


A Horse on a Stick

by SilverRowan_Ivy630951



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Because of Reasons, Because there’s never enough of those, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes-centric, Dragon Bucky Barnes, Dragons, Fantasy, Gen, Hurt Steve Rogers, I apologize for my title, I read this as, If you think of a better one then please tell me, Misunderstandings, POV Bucky Barnes, Pre-Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, This one is pretty terrible, Unicorn Steve Rogers, Unicorns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24520855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverRowan_Ivy630951/pseuds/SilverRowan_Ivy630951
Summary: Bucky finds a unicorn lying injured in a forest. As a non-human himself, what else could he do but take the unicorn home and try to nurse him back to health?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers
Comments: 14
Kudos: 79





	A Horse on a Stick

Bucky Barnes was making his way through the forest. That, in itself, wasn’t so odd. What was odd was that he was walking through it on two legs. Being a dragon, he usually flew everywhere he wanted to go. But he’d passed over this area and something about it had just pulled at him.

Looking around for a good spot, he managed to find the only glade for what seemed like miles large enough to accommodate his body. After landing, though, he realized that he wouldn’t fit between the trees. They were too close together. There was nothing for him to do but shift.

So, now he found himself making his way through the forest on two feet.

He did hope that no one spotted him. It was startling to see a naked man wandering around the woods. No one ever just assumed that the naked man was up to anything good. For that reason, Bucky and most of his kind preferred to shift in their caves where they could put on human clothes before going anywhere.

Dragons weren’t unknown in the world but they were rarely actually seen. They were excellent at camouflaging themselves, able to turn near invisible at a moment’s notice. The thing that most people didn’t know about his kind was that all dragons were shapeshifters. So, while people rarely saw a dragon, they did not actually go unseen. When they shifted, they looked just like a human.

Bucky walked quickly, heading for the area that had intrigued him enough to land.

When he reached it, he stopped dead in his tracks. There in front of him was a unicorn, shining white despite the deep shadows underneath the thick canopy of trees. But that wasn’t what had stopped him cold. What made him freeze was the red on and around it. The unicorn was hurt. The unicorn was hurt badly.

Everything in Bucky rebelled at the idea of this beautiful creature possibly dying. Unicorns were so rare that seeing one was almost unheard of. They were so rare, in fact, that many believed them to be nothing more than myth.

Bucky had to do something. But what could he do?

He looked around frantically. There wasn’t enough room for him to shift and fly for help. He wasn’t even sure who would help him. People usually ran in the opposite direction if they saw a dragon coming at them.

Dragons had always meant burning villages and missing people. There were stories for a reason, even if that reason wasn’t always the same as told in all those stories, even if those stories had roots in centuries past, not in the now. Humans’ instinctive reactions to them were exactly why so many dragons moved around them shifted to walk on two legs. How else would they get needed supplies to live without stealing, killing, or being killed?

He couldn’t take the unicorn to some human town for the same reason. Who would trust a dragon that landed on their front lawn with what appeared at first glance to be their kill? And it wasn’t like he could bring the creature somewhere and then shift to look human. That would make things even worse, endangering not only Bucky but others like him. The human would trust Bucky even less and the unicorn would die.

On top of that, even if Bucky could take the beautiful creature to someone to treat, Bucky wouldn’t be able to shift here, much less take off and make it through the canopy.

So, with no other options, he did his best to make a makeshift litter out of some recently downed branches and springy limbs he could break off of nearby trees. As gently as he could, he hefted the unmoving animal onto it—thank the gods for dragon strength—and dragged it to the clearing he’d landed in.

He immediately shifted. Carefully, oh so carefully, he grasped the unicorn in his claw and took off. Gaining height as quickly as he could, he raced for his cave. If he could make it in time, he could use his first aid kit to try to save the animal’s life.

*****

Bucky landed as softly as he could and did his best to walk clutching the animal in his claw. He did his best to not hurt the unicorn more than it already was but, after one hopping step, he set it down. Instead, he picked it up carefully with his mouth, hoping it was the lesser of two evils. He also hoped that it was only unconscious, not dead.

Setting it down in an out of the way chamber of his cave, Bucky shifted again. He gathered his med kit and raced back to the room.

In the quiet of the cave, he could hear the creature’s shallow breathing. He knew things were still touch and go but it settled something in him. He still had a chance. He could still save its life.

*****

Over the next day, Bucky stayed with the unicorn almost constantly. The only times he left were to get supplies like blankets and water. He didn’t think it would be able to eat, when it woke up—if it woke up—so he didn’t bother with solid food just yet.

He prayed to any gods that would listen for it to pull through.

He didn’t know how many hours into his vigil he was, but he started dozing. He jolted awake to the sound of the unicorn’s breathing growing heavier. Unable to pinpoint a reason for it, Bucky moved to its head and started petting and soothing it. He didn’t quite know what to say so he just talked, telling it that it would be okay and how he had done his best to stitch his wound up.

He tried to make his voice as soothing as possible. He had the vague idea that that was what humans did around horses so he reasoned that it might work for a unicorn. After a few minutes it settled into what he hoped was sleep, not unconsciousness.

Fuck. Bucky took care of himself. That’s what he knew. That’s what he’d always done. He’d never had to take care of anything or anyone else. He was so unprepared for this.

He was a _dragon_ , a predator. Horses were prey animals so it stood to reason that unicorns were, too. Weren’t they basically just horses with horns? Hell, he didn’t even know that. Beyond stitching the animal up—which he could only hope he’d done properly—he had no clue what to do. Did he leave it alone? Did watch it constantly? Should it be lying down or standing up? Horses were supposed to get back on their feet as soon as possible, right? But maybe that was wrong. He didn’t know.

Gods, but Bucky was hopeless.

About the only thing he did know was that he felt weird thinking of the unicorn as an ‘it’ in his head. So far, he hadn’t snuck a peek to see whether it was male or female. He know how _he’d_ feel if someone did that to him. But calling the beautiful creature ‘it’ felt wrong, too. So, what else was there to do?

Gathering up his courage—girding his loins, as he thought the human phrase went—Bucky turned his head and looked.

Male. The unicorn was male. And Bucky felt like a total creep.

Unable to sit still after that, he left the room to go find something to do with himself. Maybe he’d make himself useful and find some grain. Horses ate grain, right? Shit. He didn’t even know what horses ate!

Incompetence, thy name is Bucky.

Ten minutes later, he decided that he’d go into town. He’d just ask someone how to take care of a horse. That would work, right? No way would he mention the word unicorn; he did not need that kind of attention drawn to him. But someone might know something that could help. He’d try his luck.

*****

When Bucky got back from his too-long trip, he used his strength to easily carry in and store everything in one of the back rooms of his extensive cave network. Then he made the trek back to where the unicorn was.

He wasn’t there.

Holy shit! He wasn’t there. Did someone find his cave? Did someone take his unicorn? It hadn’t looked like anyone had been inside but it was a _cave_. Would he even know?

Frantically, Bucky looked into the surrounding rooms and alcoves. After five minutes of panicked searching, he finally got smart. He would know if someone had been there recently. He would’ve been able to smell them.

So, what were other possibilities?

Could it be possible that his unicorn had woken up and wandered off? He had been in a bad state but Bucky had been gone for a while. He hadn’t meant to be, but it was unavoidable. The nearest town was a good distance away.

Bucky closed his eyes and listened, hoping to hear something, hoping to pin down a direction to look.

Off to his right, he thought he heard the clod of a hoof on rock. So that was where he went.

Bucky found him slowly and slightly unsteadily making his way down the passage. If he was trying to get out, he was going the wrong direction. The only thing back there was a room with large holes in the ceiling. They let light in when it was sunny but also water when it rained so Bucky didn’t use it for much.

He made his way to the unicorn who stilled and tensed. His ears flicked back toward the soft sound of Bucky’s footfalls. A part of Bucky marveled at how his beautiful white coat gleamed, even in the relative darkness of the hall. It was almost as if he gave off his own warm glow.

Murmuring gently to the animal, Bucky led him back to his room. It wasn’t as if the unicorn was strong enough to resist him. But for some reason, the creature’s head drooped lower and lower the closer they got to his room. Bucky wasn’t sure what that meant.

He led the unicorn to a large bin of water—as close to a water trough as he could find and reasonably carry—in the hopes that he would drink. Then, he spent the next few hours trying to get him to eat. It didn’t work.

Frustrated and annoyed that the damned stubborn thing kept turning his nose up at the hay, oats, and corn he tried feeding him, as well as any fruit or vegetables he offered, Bucky left before he accidentally set something on fire.

The next two days were spent in the same manner.

Bucky would wake up and have to track the unicorn down. He always took the same passageway he had the first time, so, after the third, Bucky didn’t bother to search anywhere else. He’d just head straight for the hall. Then he would lead the damned stubborn animal back to the room set up for him, get him to drink some water, and try to tempt him with food.

The stupid thing always turned his nose up at whatever Bucky offered and, frustrated, Bucky would leave.

On the morning of the fourth day, they both snapped.

“All the gods damn you! Why won’t you eat anything?” Bucky half-growled, half-shouted.

In response, the unicorn made its own snarling growl—or as close to a growl as a horse’s ass could get. He also bared his teeth at Bucky—his very sharp, very _pointed_ teeth.

It was then that things clicked. “Dammit. You’re not like a horse at all, are you? Teeth like that, you’ve got to eat meat.” He sighed rubbing at his brow. “I’m a fucking idiot.” He turned around and left.

It was time to do some real hunting.

*****

The nickname that he’d silently dubbed the unicorn over the previous three days—stubborn ass—had gone from a petty release of inner frustrations to a sort of fondness while he was out. It wasn’t the animal’s fault that Bucky hadn’t realized he was trying to feed him all wrong foods. So, with that thought in mind, Bucky determined that he would keep his fiery temper more in check.

Since it was long past time for Bucky to eat as well, he sated his own hunger before catching something smaller for his stubborn ass.

With his dragon fire, he cooked the meat to perfection—as meat always had to be before consumed—then brought it back so the unicorn could enjoy the fruits of his labor.

Hunting was actually quite difficult. One would think that being a dragon would make it easier, but it really didn’t. It was actually harder because animals seemed to have an ingrained instinct to run and hide when a dragon was out hunting. Things were made even more difficult by the fact that Bucky couldn’t hunt very close to his home or all the animals would leave and not come back.

So, proud of himself and the swiftness with which he’d successfully hunted, Bucky set his kill down in front of the unicorn and backed away. He watched intently and waited.

Instead of happily diving face first into the meal like Bucky expected after days of not eating, the unicorn just stared at the meat. Then he slowly turned his head to look at Bucky. He didn’t know how, but it almost seemed as if the stubborn ass was judging Bucky and finding him wanting.

“What _now_?!” Bucky complained, tilting his head up for a moment to look up at the ceiling in exasperation. “It’s not plants, it’s meat. You eat meat. You _have_ to eat meat. There is literally nothing else! Either plants or meat or both! I even cooked it so you won’t get sick and _die_!”

As if in answer, the stupid animal steadily eyed him as he leaned down to sniff Bucky’s kill. He snorted air from his nose as if clearing away the smell and pointedly looked away from both Bucky _and_ the food.

He felt like he’d just gotten sassed by a horse on a stick.

Feeling very much done with everything, he dramatically flopped onto his back, arms splayed out away from his body. “Why do you hate me? Are you doing this on purpose? What the hell else could you _possibly_ eat? Do you eat dirt? How about bugs and worms?” Bucky suddenly propped himself up on his elbows at that last thought. “ _Do_ you eat bugs and worms?” He scrunched his nose up in disgust, doing his best to hold back a shudder.

If he didn’t know better, Bucky would almost say that the unicorn was glaring at him. He looked utterly unamused.

After a long, tired sigh, he stood up, hefted the cooked animal carcass over his shoulder, and left. There was one last option he would try, even though he really didn’t want to. He would just have to hope it didn’t kill his unicorn.

Two hours later, Bucky brought in another dead animal, recently killed and very much uncooked.

“If you get sick or keel over dead from this,” Bucky said, unceremoniously dumping the body in front of the stubborn ass, “it is not my fault and no one can blame me. I have tried everything I can think of, short of _actually_ hunting up bugs and worms or giving you a bucket full of dirt to eat.”

He hadn’t even finished speaking before the unicorn was ripping and tearing greedily into Bucky’s kill.

The thought—and sight and sound—of eating uncooked meat made Bucky want to vomit so he turned around and left. He came back a few hours later, hoping he’d given the unicorn enough time to finish eating so he wouldn’t have to watch.

He arrived to see a pile of cleaned bones…and no unicorn. “Gods dammit! Why can’t the stubborn ass just _stay put_ for once?”

Turning around, Bucky stalked down the now well-traveled passageway. The unicorn was nowhere to be found.

But before Bucky could begin to panic, he turned the corner and came to the room with the holes in the ceiling. Late afternoon sunshine beamed down through the holes, lighting up the cavern, and his stubborn ass was lying in the biggest pool of light. The unicorn’s white coat gleamed brighter than Bucky had seen it so far and the wound on his side was healing up right before his very eyes.

It wasn’t _fast_ , but it was faster than he would’ve ever thought possible. Bucky’s mouth dropped open in shock.

Then the full implications hit him and his eyes began to water. “Gods.” He fell to his knees before sitting back on his heels, trying to hold back his tears. All this time, the unicorn had been trying to get better and Bucky had only been keeping him hurt. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He covered his mouth with a shaky hand.

The unicorn stared at him through slitted eyes but didn’t move. After a few minutes of watching, Bucky sniffed, wiped at his damp cheeks, and got determinedly to his feet.

Not allowing himself to think any more about it, Bucky made his way back to the room he’d put the unicorn in. As quickly as he could and in as few trips as possible, he moved everything to the room with the sunbeams that healed. When he was done, he left.

Obviously he wasn’t qualified to take care of another living creature. It was clear that the unicorn had known what to do all along. It was better that Bucky stayed out of his way. He would bring water and disgustingly-uncooked meat but, other than that, Bucky would stay far, far away.

Before he disappeared, he looked back over his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I won’t keep you here anymore when you want to go.”

Then, with thoughts spinning in his head of what he’d done, of how he’d hurt the unicorn when he’d only wanted to help, he fled.

*****

Deep in his cave, lying on his pile of gold and treasure—the treasure being the softest, prettiest blankets he’d found over his lifetime because they were _truly_ a treasure worth collecting—Bucky curled his long neck and tail tightly around his body.

He was upset and moping. He could admit it to himself, if not actually out loud.

It was the day after he’d found out just how bad he was at taking care of another living being and he’d gone back to the sun-room at midday with a fresh kill for the unicorn. But, when he’d gotten there, he’d found it empty. Everything was just how Bucky remembered leaving it…except for the unicorn.

Obviously his stubborn ass had gotten out of Bucky’s cave as soon as he possibly could.

Bucky couldn’t even blame him. He’d made it so the beautiful creature had to wake up in a strange, dark, and dreary cave and then he’d kept him from healing. On top of that, he’d starved him for days.

It didn’t really matter that Bucky had stitched him up best he could; he’d been awful at taking care of the creature. No one would want to stick around after all that.

In despair, Bucky had dropped his kill beside the doorway. Then he’d turned around and left. He’d been moping on top of his treasure ever since.

The truth was…the truth was that Bucky was lonely. It had been nice to have company the past several days, even if it was only an animal and not a mate or even just a friend.

He’d been very careful to never reveal his dragon to his stubborn ass for fear of scaring him away. Unicorns eating meat didn’t mean that they weren’t still prey animals. And, even if they were predators and not prey, dragons were definitely higher up on the food chain than them. Dragons were higher even than humans.

But now, with the unicorn gone, Bucky was alone once again. He was alone and lonely.

He didn’t know why a few days had changed what had been constant for years. He’d been alone for more years than he cared to count. He was used to it. Only, now, he didn’t want to be.

Bucky heard a sound. A pebble skidded across the floor. Someone was in his cave. His eyes flicked open.

He quickly uncurled his body and flared his wings out a bit, just in case. When he looked to where the sound had been, however, he froze.

The unicorn was there.

The unicorn had been a good twenty feet into the room before he’d noticed it was occupied by a dragon. Now, he stood frozen in place, fear radiating off him. His muscles tensed and his lungs starting to heave. He backed away from Bucky but, in his fear, he strayed even farther from the door. When the wall touched his flicking tail, the unicorn’s fear turned to panic.

Bucky could see the creature gearing himself up to fight for his life regardless of the fact that, between a dragon and a unicorn, a dragon would always win. So, desperate to calm him down, Bucky did the only thing he could think of. He shifted.

Hoping the unicorn would trust the ‘human’ that had taken care of it—or, at least, that had _tried_ —Bucky started talking soothingly as he approached. He held his hands open and down by his waist, trying to show that he wasn’t a threat. Not knowing what else to say, Bucky promised not to hurt him, that he was safe. Thinking it was more about his tone, not his words, Bucky told his stubborn ass about how he was a dragon and how dragons were shapeshifters.

It took time—minutes or hours, Bucky wasn’t sure—but eventually his beautiful, shining unicorn calmed. By then, Bucky had managed to approach and was slowly stroking his face and neck like he had that first day.

With something that sounded an awful lot like a horse’s high-pitched whinny, the unicorn pushed Bucky back with his snout.

Bucky shouldn’t have been surprised, but it hurt more than he would have expected. He didn’t have the _right_ to feel hurt, though. Not after everything he’d done over the last five days.

He backed away even farther, lowering his eyes to the ground so it wouldn’t seem like he was challenging the creature. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. All I seem capable of doing lately is messing up. You can go. I won’t keep you here. And I won’t come after you. You’re safe from me.”

The unicorn gave a small snort of air and Bucky peeked up at him.

The second their eyes met, the unicorn’s outline sort of shimmered and then melted. It was the strangest thing Bucky had ever seen in his life. He couldn’t look away, yet, his brain couldn’t really comprehend what he was seeing. The animal changed and, two seconds later, a short, thin, delicate-looking human stood in his place. He had blond hair and familiar blue eyes.

“What if I don’t want to leave?” he said.

Bucky opened his mouth but nothing came out. He could only stare, stunned.

The unicorn—the man?—stepped forward until he was only a few feet away. As small as he was, the man was as beautiful as the unicorn had been. He was also naked, just as Bucky was after a shift.

Bucky finally got his voice to work. “What? What the hell? You’re a shapeshifter? Why the fuck didn’t you shift before now?!” He, unfortunately, couldn’t keep the slight tone of hurt and outrage from his voice.

Calmly, the blond man tilted his head. “Why didn’t you?” he asked instead of answering.

“I was trying not to scare the injured unicorn because I’m a giant, black, fire-breathing dragon!”

Blue Eyes conceded to that. “Fair enough.” Then he apparently decided to actually give Bucky and answer. “I was hurt as a unicorn so I had to stay a unicorn until I was healed. I’m not the most…healthy…in this form.” He turned his back to Bucky. Even in the dim light, he could easily see each rib under his skin as well as every knob and bump of his crooked spine.

After blowing a slow breath out, Bucky apologized again for scaring him. “I’m Bucky,” he said, holding out his hand to shake.

“Steve,” the blond replied with a small smile. “My name is Steve.”


End file.
